326: Hamilton Ricard, Middlesbrough, Merlin’s F.A. Premier League 2000, Millennium Edition Sticker Collection

I’d like to start by expressing my apologies to Tom Moran for the delay with this long overdue request post – see it as a late wedding present mate. Tom’s reasons for putting today’s subject forward come from the ever-fertile ground of Championship Manager where he succeeded where Bryan Robson and Walter Smith failed and “revitalised Gazza” in no small part thanks to this man’s contributions. I hope this post is equally as restorative.

Harry Kane’s winning goal against Manchester City earlier this month saw him become Tottenham Hotspur’s leading goalscorer surpassing Jimmy Greaves’ longstanding record of 266 goals. It was also the England captain’s 200th Premier League goal putting him third in the competition’s all-time list behind only Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer. Among the various articles that appeared in the aftermath of Kane’s most recent achievement was a BBC Sport piece musing over which other top flight clubs could potentially see their all-time goalscoring records broken. Marcus Rashford could chase down Rooney’s record for Manchester United providing he isn’t lured away from Old Trafford, continues his impressive recent run of form and scores at least thirteen goals a season for the next decade. Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Daniel Podence, on the other hand, needs to score at least 32 goals a season to match Steve Bull’s all-time record which might take some doing considering the Portuguese has managed just fifteen across four seasons at Molineux.

Middlesbrough have not been in the Premier League since the 2016/17 season so did not feature in the BBC list but it’s unlikely any of their current charges will come close to George Camsell’s preposterous interwar record of 345 goals in 453 games. Their goalscoring record in the post-1992 top flight, however, is remarkably tangible especially when you consider some of the luminaries to have graced the Riverside in the Premier League era. Fabrizio Ravanelli managed sixteen league goals back in 1996/97 but sits behind the likes of Massimo Maccarone, Brian Deane and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The legendary Juninho managed 29 goals during three separate spells at the club but he sits in second place behind a fellow South American who managed two more strikes during a four-year spell in the North East.

Despite this impressive accolade Hamilton Ricard’s early days with Middlesbrough did not hint at this prowess in front of goal. The Colombian forward joined the club from his native Deportivo Cali after scoring 92 goals in just 61 appearances. Bryan Robson splashed out £2m to bolster Boro’s promotion bid in the latter stages of the 1997/98 campaign and Ricard signed his contract on a napkin due to a lack of suitable documentation in his new manager’s briefcase. After a quiet debut off the bench in a 3-0 win over Norwich City he started the League Cup final against Chelsea but, with goals raining in from fellow strikers Mikkel Beck and Alun Armstrong, he chipped in just two goals in ten appearances as Middlesbrough returned to the Premier League for the 1998/99 season.

Some players struggle with the step up following promotion but Hamilton Ricard was clearly a man ready for the top flight. In his first twelve games of the 1998/99 campaign he scored eleven goals and finished as the club’s top scorer in all competitions with eighteen as Boro ended the season in ninth. Ricard was deservedly named the club’s Player of the Year and showed that his performances were no fluke with twelve more Premier League goals the following season. The arrival of Alen Boksic ahead of the 2000/01 campaign limited Ricard’s first team appearances but he still managed nine goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Macclesfield in the League Cup, as Middlesbrough established themselves as a solid mid-table side. The arrival of everyone’s favourite umbrella enthusiast Steve McClaren further reduced Ricard’s game time and after eleven goalless appearances he moved to CSKA Sofia on a free in July 2002.

After only nine games in Bulgaria he moved back to Colombia with Santa Fe but failed to make a single appearance following a horrific car crash which left the striker badly injured and killed a seventeen year old. While the legal proceedings rumbled on in the background Ricard continued to ply his trade in Japan, Ecuador, Cyprus, Spain, Uruguay, China and Chile. It was during a profitable spell in front of goal for Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua in 2007 that he was eventually convicted of dangerous driving and sentenced to three years in prison alongside a £68,000 fine. Whilst Ricard paid the fine he appealed the prison sentence and, as recently as 2020, has yet to serve the time as the case has disappeared into the mire that is the Colombian legal system.

Hamilton Ricard retired from professional football in 2013 and has moved seamlessly into the world of coaching and punditry back in Colombia. As well as being Middlesbrough’s all-time leading Premier League goal scorer he made 27 appearances for his country scoring five goals, including two in consecutive Copa America campaigns, and coming of the bench at the 1998 World Cup in a group stage clash with England best remembered for David Beckham’s excellent free kick. At the time of writing Boro are leading the chasing pack for automatic promotion from the Championship under the leadership of Michael Carrick with former Arsenal child prodigy Chuba Akpom banging in the goals. Maybe next season will see Teesside’s latest goal machine make a start on Ricard’s record to establish himself as another cult hero for a club that seems to collect them.